Milestones reached in St. Marys River cleanup

March 18, 2014 | AP The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality says milestones have been reached in the cleanup of the contaminated St. Marys River.

The river is among dozens of federally designated "areas of concern" suffering from severe environmental degradation, primarily caused by industrial and municipal wastes. Such designations are based on lists of ecological problems that would have to be fixed before a site could be declared restored.

The St. Marys River links Lakes Huron and Superior and forms the border with Canada. Among its problems are excessive nutrients, polluted sediments and heavy metals.

Now, the DEQ says degraded aesthetics and animal deformities can be removed from the list because of progress toward cleaning up the river.

Wildlife nesting and foraging are no longer harmed by exposure to PCBs, dioxin and other contaminants.